Ocean Acidification: 'Evil Twin' Threatens World's Oceans
The rise in human emissions of carbon dioxide is driving dangerous changes in the chemistry and ecosystems of the world's oceans, international marine（海洋的）scientists have warned. "Ocean conditions are already more extreme than those experienced by marine organisms and ecosystems for millions of years," says the latest issue of the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution. "This emphasizes the urgent need to adopt policies that markedly reduce CO2 emissions."
Ocean acidification, which the researchers call the 'evil twin of global warming', is caused when the CO2 emitted by human activity, mainly burning fossil fuels, dissolves into the oceans. It is happening independently of, but in combination with, global warming. Evidence gathered by scientists over the last few years suggests that ocean acidification could represent an equal -- or perhaps even greater threat -- to the biology of our planet than global warming. More than 30% of the CO2 released from burning fossil fuels, cement production, deforestation and other human activities goes straight into the oceans, turning them gradually more acidic.
"The resulting acidification will impact many forms of sea life, especially organisms whose shells or skeletons are made from calcium carbonate（碳化鈣）, like corals and shellfish. It may interfere with the reproduction of plankton species which are a vital part of the food web on which fish and all other sea life depend," he adds.
The scientists say there is now persuasive evidence that mass extinctions in past Earth history, like the "Great Dying" of 251 million years ago and another wipeout 55 million years ago, were accompanied by ocean acidification, which may have delivered the deathblow to many species that were unable to cope with it. "These past periods can serve as great lessons of what we can expect in the future, if we continue to push the acidity the ocean even further" said lead author, Dr. Carles Pelejero, from ICREA and the Marine Science Institute of CSIC in Barcelona, Spain. "Given the impacts we see in the fossil record, there is no question about the need to immediately reduce the rate at which we are emitting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," he said further.
"Today, the surface waters of the oceans have already acidified by an average of 0.1 pH units from pre-industrial levels, and we are seeing signs of its impact even in the deep oceans," said co-author Dr. Eva Calvo, from the Marine Science Institute of CSIC in Spain. "Future acidification depends on how much CO2 humans emit from here on -- but by the year 2100 various projections indicate that the oceans will have acidified by a further 0.3 to 0.4 pH units, which is more than many organisms like corals can stand," Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg says.
"This will create conditions not seen on Earth for at least 40 million years."
"These changes are taking place at rates as much as 100 times faster than they ever have over the last tens of millions of years" Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg says. Besides directly impacting on the fishing industry and its contribution to the human food supply at a time when global food demand is doubling, a major die-off in the oceans would affect birds and many land species and change the biology of Earth as a whole profoundly, Prof. Hoegh-Guldberg adds.
67. What is the biggest cause of the ocean acidification according to the report?
A. the increase of carbon dioxide emission by human beings
B. The worsening of global warming
C. The disappearance of the world’s forests
D. The decrease of marine life
68. In what way according to the report does ocean acidification affect the majority of marine life?
A. It affects their reproduction          B. It destroys their food chain
C. It affects the growth of their young    D. destroys their habitats
69. Which of the following statements is NOT true about ocean acidification?
A. Ocean acidification has made ocean conditions most extreme in millions of years.
B. Ocean acidification may do more damage than global warming to human and plant life in the long run.
C. Ocean acidification is suspected of having caused mass extinctions of life in past Earth history.
D. The effects of ocean acidification are not now but will be felt in the foreseeable future.
70. From the report we can clearly feel that the situation with ocean acidification __________.
A. is quite optimistic                B. remains well under control
C. looks more than urgent            D. is already out of control 

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina is a wake-up call. It is a call for every American to pay attention to the destruction we risk by allowing human-induced(導(dǎo)致的) climate change to continue. It is impossible to prove that Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming, or even that human activities made the storm more severe. However, a paper published in the scholarly journal Nature reports that the force of dangerous hurricanes has increased by 50% during the last 50 years. It also reports that a global warming-induced rise in temperature near the ocean’s surface has probably contributed to this increase in dangerous storms, and thus to property(財(cái)產(chǎn)) damage and human death.

On August 30, the Los Angeles Times summed up(總結(jié)) the view of many scientists who agree that if the frequency of hurricanes does not decrease in the next few years, then we will be fairly certain that humans, and not natural storm cycle, are at the root of the problem. I believe there is at least a chance that by reducing U.S. reliance on fossil fuels for energy, we can prevent future tragedies like Hurricane Katrina. Let the change begin now.

There are many ways to reduce the volume of greenhouse gas emissions. My family drives the most fuel-efficient car we can afford, but I prefer to take public transportation whenever possible. My family buys locally grown food instead of produce that was transported thousands of miles on fuel-burning vehicles. We also replaced our incandescent light bulbs（白熾燈泡）with more energy-efficient compact fluorescents（熒光燈）. This might sound like a trivial move, but the Union of Concerned Scientists reports that if every household in the United States replaced one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent, it would have the same effect on U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions as removing 7.5 million cars from the roads. Now think if every household replaced not just one but all of their incandescent bulbs!

The United States, with just five percent of the world’s population, is responsible for close to one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, yet our country is doing far less than most European nations to fight global warming. We don’t have to sacrifice our lifestyles; Europeans enjoy the same standards of living as Americans. So what are we waiting for? It is time to act.

Which of the following is a fact?

A. Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming.

B. Human activities made the storm more severe.

C. The force of dangerous hurricanes has increased by 50 percent during the last 50 years.

D. A global rise in temperature near the ocean’s surface accounts for more dangerous storms.

From Paragraph 2 we can infer that many scientists agree ________.

A. it might be human activities that lead to global warming.

B. natural storm cycles have caused global warming.

C. hurricanes are likely to come more frequently.

D. burning fossil fuels for energy is a better alternative.

If every household in the U.S. replaced all their incandescent bulbs, ________.

A. it would have the same effect as removing 7.5 million cars from the roads.

B. it would save 7.5 million tons of carbon-dioxide from going into the air.

C. this would reduce the total output of CO??emissions in huge amounts.

D. cars will be much more environmentally friendly.

According to the writer,_______in reducing the volume of greenhouse gas emissions.

A. Europe does a better job.   

B. Europe should follow the example of America.

C. he, as an European, wants to see more efforts made by Americans.

D. Europeans should shoulder a greater responsibility.

All too often, a choice that seems sustainable(可持續(xù)的)turns out on closer examination to be problematic. Probably the best example is the rush to produce ethanol(乙醇) for fuel from corn. Corn is a renewable resource —you can harvest it and grow more, almost limitlessly. So replacing gas with corn ethanol seems like a great idea. 

   One might get a bit more energy out of the ethanol than that used to make it, which could still make ethanol more sustainable than gas generally, but that’s not the end of the problem. Using corn to make ethanol means less corn is left to feed animals and people, which drives up the cost of food. That result leads to turning the fallow land –including, in some cases, rain forest in places such as Brazil—into farmland, which in turn gives off lots of carbon dioxide (CO) into the air. Finally, over many years, the energy benefit from burning ethanol would make up for the forest loss. But by then, climate change would have progressed so far that it might not help.

   You cannot really declare any practice “sustainable” until you have done a complete life-cycle analysis of its environmental(環(huán)境的) costs. Even then, technology and public keep developing, and that development can lead to unforeseen and undesired results. The admirable goal of living sustainably requires plenty of thought on an ongoing basis.

1.What might directly cause the loss of the forest according to the text?

A. The growing demand for energy to make ethanol

B. The increasing carbon dioxide in the air

C. The greater need for farmland

D. The big change in weather.

2.The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to “           ” 

A. the energy benefit                                              B. the forest loss 

C. climate change                                           D. burning ethanol 

3.The author thinks that replacing gas with corn ethanol is           . 

A. impractical                    B. acceptable               C. admirable         D. useless 

4.What does the author mainly discuss in the text? 

A. Technology                          B. Sustainability

C. Ethanol energy            D. Environmental protection 

New Annotated Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Price: ￡28.00

Publication Date: 30/11/2006

Publisher’s description:

Collect Doyle’s fifty-six classic short stories, arranged in the order in which they appeared in late-nineteenth-and-early-twentieth-century book editions, in a set complemented by four novels, editor biographies of Doyle, Holmes, and Watson as well as literary and cultural details about Victorian society.

Breaking Ground by Daniel Libeskind

Price: ￡16.00

Publication Date:11/10/2006

Brief description:

This is a book about the adventure life that can offer each of us if we seize it, and about the powerful forces of tragedy, memory and hope. For Daniel Libeskind, life’s adventure has been through architecture, which he has found has the power to reshape human experience. Although often relating to the past, his buildings are about the future. This biology of one man’s journey brings together history, personal experience, our physical environment and a fresh international vision.

In the Shadow of No Towers by Art Spiegelman

Price: ￡16.00

Publication Date:02/09/2006

Brief description:

On 11^th September 2001, Art Spiegelman raced to the world Trade Center, not knowing if his daughter Nadja was alive or dead. Once she was found safe---in her school at the foot of the burning towers---he returned home, to mediate(反省) on the trauma(創(chuàng)傷), and to work on a comic strip(連環(huán)漫畫). In the Shadow of No Towers is New Yorker Art Spiegelman’s extraordinary account of “the hijacking(劫機(jī)) on 9.11 and the following hijacking of those events” by America.

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

Price: ￡14.00

Publication Date:07/10/2006

Publisher’s description:

This is the 11^th novel by Anita Shreve, the critically accepted bestseller. A moving story of love and courage and tragedy and of the ways in which the human heart always seeks to heal itself.

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

Price: ￡20.99

Publication Date:11/08/2006

Brief description:

Camping in the garden, riding bikes through the woods, climbing trees, picking wildflowers, running through piles of autumn leaves… these are the things childhood memories are made of. But for a whole generation of today’s children the pleasures of a free-range childhood are missing, and their indoor habits contribute to obesity, attention disorder and childhood depression. This book shows how our children have become increasingly distanced from nature, why this matters and how we can make a difference. Richard Louv is chairman of the Children and Nature Network and co-chair of the National Forum on Children and Nature. He is the author of seven other books and has written for newspapers and magazines including the New York Times and the Washington Post.

1.Who is the writer of the latest book published among the four books?

A．Arthur Conan Doyle                     B．Daniel Libeskind

C．Art Spiegelman                         D．Anita Shreve

2.If one wants to know something about Victorian society, he or she may read____.

A．Light on Snow                          B．In the Shadow of No Towers

C．Breaking Ground                        D．New Annotated Sherlock Holmes

3.Which of the following refers to tragedies?

A．Light on Snow　＆　Breaking Ground

B．Light on Snow ＆　In the Shadow of No Towers

C．In the Shadow of No Towers ＆　Breaking Ground

D．New Annotated Sherlock Holmes�。Α�In the Shadow of No Towers

4.Which book is based on a real big event?

A．Breaking Ground                        B．In the Shadow of No Towers

C．Light on Snow                          D．Last Child in The Woods

5.Who has also written for newspapers and magazines according to the text?

A．Arthur Conan Doyle.                     B．Daniel Libeskind

C．Art Spiegelman                         D．Richard Louv

The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina is a wake-up call. It is a call for every American to pay attention to the destruction we risk by allowing human-induced(導(dǎo)致的) climate change to continue. It is impossible to prove that Hurricane Katrina was caused by global warming, or even that human activities made the storm more severe. However, a paper published in the scholarly journal Nature reports that the force of dangerous hurricanes has increased by 50% during the last 50 years. It also reports that a global warming-induced rise in temperature near the ocean’s surface has probably contributed to this increase in dangerous storms, and thus to property(財(cái)產(chǎn)) damage and human death.
On August 30, the Los Angeles Times summed up(總結(jié)) the view of many scientists who agree that if the frequency of hurricanes does not decrease in the next few years, then we will be fairly certain that humans, and not natural storm cycle, are at the root of the problem. I believe there is at least a chance that by reducing U.S. reliance on fossil fuels for energy, we can prevent future tragedies like Hurricane Katrina. Let the change begin now.
There are many ways to reduce the volume of greenhouse gas emissions. My family drives the most fuel-efficient car we can afford, but I prefer to take public transportation whenever possible. My family buys locally grown food instead of produce that was transported thousands of miles on fuel-burning vehicles. We also replaced our incandescent light bulbs（白熾燈泡）with more energy-efficient compact fluorescents（熒光燈）. This might sound like a trivial move, but the Union of Concerned Scientists reports that if every household in the United States replaced one incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent, it would have the same effect on U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions as removing 7.5 million cars from the roads. Now think if every household replaced not just one but all of their incandescent bulbs!
The United States, with just five percent of the world’s population, is responsible for close to one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, yet our country is doing far less than most European nations to fight global warming. We don’t have to sacrifice our lifestyles; Europeans enjoy the same standards of living as Americans. So what are we waiting for? It is time to act.
【小題1】 Which of the following is a fact?